Corner View ... Summmmer!!!!!

This week's theme for Corner View is Summer... well I think I have the monopoly on images depicting summer so here goes............for more fun, check out the links on my side bar. Besos!!!!!

 do you see the little fiddler crab eyes poking up outta the water???

 off to History Camp at a local plantation.

 feeding giraffes.... so far my fav moment of the summer!!!

Salsa... not the dance...

I wonder if I'm pregnant again?

They would be mighty diligent sperm to get through the 

bullet proof pj's and into the "female anatomy" and then past 

the tubes that are tied in a running bowline figure of eight with

two half hitches.

Um yeah, we can prolly discount the possibility of a pregnancy at 

this stage of the game. 

Then what? 

What on God's green earth is causing my irrational cravings

for salsa and olives? 

I can't get enough of them, I tried some Paul Newman's Mango 

Salsa the other day...OMG that shit it AWESOME!!! 

It was gone in a day... a day I tell ya. Then there's the 

little green olives stuffed with all kind of goodies, garlic, 

pimentos, more olives, deliciouso!!!! 

Add to these little snacks the Greenwise Tortilla chips 

from Publix and you have a totally winning combination.

A little wine and it's enough to sustain even the hardest of hardened

bloggers... i could literally sit here for months on end with just

me, my net book, the salsa and the chips and the wine. 

So what is it? Do I have some kind of Mexican/Mediterranean

tape worm that has preferences for these things? 

Is my body secretly wishing I were in the throws of building another

baby? Is it my biological clock reminding me that procreation is a

thing of the past for me? 

I was in close proximity of a nursing mother the other day and 

guess what? My boobs positively tingled... nay...vibrated in a manner

akin to a jack hammer, screaming out 

for a baby to latch on and be nourished!!! 

TMI??? sorry.

Then again the real reason could be that I'm turning into my mother.

His gorgeousness is in denial about this, at least he appeared to 

be when I broached the subject the other day, well I'm 

assuming that running around the house like is 2 mm hair was on 

fire, screaming "for the love of God Noooo!!!" is his form of denial. 

I digress.

I have fond memories of good ole Mumsie eating the absolutely

weirdest crap known to man, while settling in for the night 

in front of the telly. Nibbles anyone? she'd say, then proceed to 

demolish a jar of cockles and mussels alive alive oh!!! 

They weren't alive, that's just how the song goes.

She'd eat cod roe (poor man's caviar), and Rivita covered

in all kinds of disgusting cheeses. She's describe to me how she

enjoyed the escargot during a night out at a fancy restaurant and she

would dip her bread in the garlic butter they were served in. 

Sounded horrible then, super scrummy now. 

Frogs legs, tripe, haggis and oysters...nothing got past that 

woman, the only thing she doesn't really care for is salmon! 

Now ain't that strange? considering she can cook the most delicious,

tender melt in your mouth salmon you've ever tasted.

p.s. I don't really mind turning into my Mum, yep she's had her 

"issues" but all in all she's not a bad old broad. 

in which she gets a massage at work...

The other day my co-workers and I were treated to a free massage…. Yeah you heard right… a Free massage… bestowed upon us from a local chiropractors office they're trying to get their name and info out there.

So … it only seemed fitting to change the channel on our piped music to Sirius 73…. The Spa Channel!!! LOL… now here I sit in the little office in South GA where the good ol’ boys come in to chit chat and drink coffee while they conduct business and we have this sitar playing in the background! It was soooo tickling my sense of the bizarre.

The massage was fantastic though, really something that we need to integrate into a regular working week!!! Lovely!!! 

Here I am..... just kiddin!!! I kept my socks on.                           source...ttp://www.google.com/imgres?

OK I give in ... here's a list....

175/365 pin wheel , originally uploaded by McGillicutty1.

Some of the blogs I follow regularly have featured lists lately, it's a trend if you will. Well I love lists, and having not actually posted a list in like... forever... here is one that has been manifesting in my noggin all day.

The things I love about summer.... in no particular order.

Are you sitting comfortably? then I'll begin.

Gin & tonic, all sparkling and fresh in a lovely glass with lots of ice and a twist of lime. I particularly like the fizz that jumps up your nose as you take the first sip.

Water fights... either with the hose or buckets or sponges or whatever, lots of wet kids, giggles, screams and laughter. There's always been a place in my heart for water fights from a young age when my siblings would sneak up and get me with the hose.... it was always soooo cold!!!!!!

Pin wheels.... I guess it's not really solely a summer thing but i love pinwheels spinning in a breeze. The one we have on the patio is shiny and will reflect in the windows casting colors across the room. This coupled with the solar rainbow maker sent to us by my sister makes for an effect to rival the biggest disco ball in the world.. oh yeah we know how to rock the reflections!!!

Seasonal fruits and veggies... corn on the cob, strawberries, vine ripened tomatoes... stop the press. This naive chick didn't realize there were any other type of tomatoes until recently, I watched Food Inc. and that's a whole other post, but I did find out that most of what we eat from the produce dept on the grocery stores in the good Ole US of A are ripened using gases and force fed stuff to make them last longer and be available all year round... so it's strictly seasonal and home grown for me from now on.

Painted toenails are a big fav.. cute bright colors, cute sandals, 'nuff said.

Fireworks... yep next weekend, Independence Day celebrations equals, bbq, cold drinks, get togethers and fireworks. There is always a big display held in my town, we go and take blankets and folding chairs and enjoy the most wonderful spectacle since Disney. Then we come home and get togeth with some of the neighbors and set off our own pathetic little sparklers with the kids!!!

My lovely white JJill jeans. Comfort and style ... 'nuff said.

So, jump aboard peeps, tell me what makes your summer rock!!!!

unusually late for me!

His gorgeousness is not around... sooo.. guess what? I'm indulging in some late night blogging.... hahaha... I'm catching up on all the good stuff I've been missing lately. Did you know that Spud has a huge book collection? or that Otin drives a minivan... yes you heard me right? Stacey is feeling hopeful over at Brown's Zoo and there are so many more lovely blogs to peek in at and see what everyone is up to. 

I've been blog lazy lately, trying to catch up on real life stuff and just dropping the occasional post into my own blog and taking some pretty crappy pictures to boot. Can't quite put my finger on the reason for all this lackadaisical behavior other than it's damn hot outside and it's hard to really do anything with all that heat and humidity going on. I can't get up the enthusiasm to head out with my camera, I would love to just have a cool day, some alone time and a little map in my head of where I can head out to get some interesting shots. I need time to think. To clear my head. To just be!!! 

I have been noticing lately that there are a huge amount of women out there starting up their own photography businesses. I don't know if they were always doing it and I just didn't pay attention, or if with today's easily accessible technology it's possible for anyone with a forefinger to start a photography business. Maybe I'm a little jealous because I would love to do something I love for a living; it's a desire to get out of bed and do something different every day, answer to myself. Is there even a smidge of a chance that I would even be good enough? Could I possibly write for a living? Would anyone want to read what it is that I'm banging on about? These are just pipe dreams but should I one day be motivated enough to do something about my dreams you can say that you knew me when.  It's always cool to be the one who liked something from the beginning... like when I used to love REM before anyone in the UK had really heard of them. I digress. I guess my point is that I love to combine the elements of reading, writing, photography and learning and indulge by way of blogging. If only I could be paid an enormous amount of money for doing this.....sigh.

Knowing my luck after all this late night indulgence online I'll be dog tired in the morning and oversleep, remember, I am NOT a morning person... nope... not one bit. I'm gonna leave you with a couple o' pics.... enjoy... and get to bed, it's late!! nite nite. 

p.s. little quote from Ash this morning... 

"today is the day that I will eat dinner wearing a blindfold"

Corner View...Noticing...

I'm noticing every minute of every day just how gorgeous summer is... 

and how hot!!!! 

Check out Jane and the other corner views... 

Got Crabs????

Prolly shouldn't make that my title 'cos it'll attract the wrong type of 

reader... although a reader is a reader is a reader... right? well ok...

So yesterday we let Daddy choose the excursion seeing as it waaassss

Father's Day!!! 

He likes to go to St Marks, a semi-near by wildlife refuge and park 

on the coast with a lighthouse. 

His goal is  always to find alligators there, and we usually do, just not

on his special day... oh well!!! 

I did manage to take some pretty pictures tho'...

How did you spend Father's Day???

and it's a Green Randomonium....

So... the rotary clothes drier is going well, have probably already saved a

shit load of energy by drying our clothes outside, Syd, as you can see is all about

some air drying of the towels!!! 

We're watching Food Inc tonight, we broke to eat some disgusting antibiotic stuffed 

chicken and other processed garbage that will never cross our family dinner 

table again. 

I'm drinking some white wine in my Happy Birthday wine glass tonight... 

it makes me happy, however, hubs pointed out that the grapes have probably been 

reared in darkened barnes and fed CORN!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I'm off to the wine store to pick up some organic wines.

Syd is doing math problems at the table while I type... um... yeah... 

we're on summer hols.. she says it's just for fun... ???????

Who's child is she????????

Since my last post, where husband was in the dog house, he has done 

dishes, pretended to make an effort to mow the grass, called me numerous

times to profess his adoration, and done a shit load of laundry.

Things are now running smoothly in the McGilli household. 

I'm glad, I don't like fussin'.

I heard a story from a lady this week that almost made me pee my pants.

This is a lady who has lived here all her life and knows everyone, she was driving

home late one night after working a ridiculously long day (at a florist on valentines day)

and was stopped by a cop. She recognized the young cop and proceeded to ask 

him if he knew what time it was? then told him she was going to tell his Daddy 

that he stopped her, then asked him if she could go 'cos she had to get up 

early and deliver the flowers he'd ordered earlier in the day!!! 

He let her go without another word.... 

Now that's the kind of woman I want to be!!!! 

Serious Poll.....

OK, I need to know how all you married people with kids and jobs split the household chores?

I'm fed up... absolutely damn fed up of doing what I consider to be everything and what the rest of the family considers to be Mama's job. My husband and I had a disagreement this evening and although I was given some good advice this week to only blog what you "have ownership of" I'm gonna put this out there.... oh yeah, I'm going there!!!!!

Happenstance made it possible for him to take a rare day off from his eleven hour day work schedule, that being so I asked politely if he would vacuum and do a couple of loads of laundry... neither of which got done. I was kinda pissy about it, quite rightly so, I believe. And he thinks I'm being selfish. So while I'm at work all day he's at home doing precisely squat... I came home and, admittedly, we cooked dinner together... then  I cleaned the kitchen, bathed the kids, did more laundry, picked up around the house, put the kids to bed, all while he slept in "his chair".

So when i demanded that he at least put his clean clothes away that had already been sitting on a chair in the bedroom for a week, he was mad. I'm madder. I don't want to air our laundry but air it I shall.... in the name of being a pissy bitchy wife who happens to like a clean tidy house and well brought up kids!!!!!!!!!!!

So dear readers... pray tell... how do you divide the day to day?? do you do certain chores and he does the others? Does your significant other just clean and tidy without being asked? does he/she take pride in your home as much as you do and actually take care of your home without it being a freakin' battle ground??????
I need answers and I need them now.... otherwise I'm hiring a freakin' maid and to hell with the cost!!!!!

Corner View... Daily.

Today's Corner View theme is daily... well, I can think of a million things

I do daily which leads me to realize what a monotonous life I lead! I wish I had the kind of life where

you get up in the morning and just don't know where you're gonna go or who

you're gonna meet... sigh.

Anyway, enough of my daydreams...

This is a hastily snapped, a little more than slightly out of focus, shot of my fav morning

ritual... yep, I still enjoy a lovely cuppa every morning!

Another daily ritual is cooking dinner.... check it... my kitchen reflected in

my lovely big shiny pot...my ever faithful shih tzu laying on the cool tile!!

And finally, i'll pretty much end the day on the couch with my lovely

little babies, reading blogs, and catching up on world news. They

really need their own blog!!!

Now, click on my link on the side bar and check out the other CV's

from around the world.

Little Miss Queen of Disappointment

For the second year running Syd came away from the Relay for Life Pageant without a trophy...nothing...nada...zip. This time though it seemed not to deflate her like it did last year. She's a trooper. I was more disappointed than her I think because in my eyes she was so gorgeous!!!!! It hasn't deterred her and it seems she'd like to do another pageant.... oh Lord!!!!  So onward and upward I guess... keep you posted on her beauty queen career and my need for some Xanax, Bambi... please do the honors!!!!!

Little Miss Bossy Boots!

Well bloggers the time has finally arrived for Syd to take part in her second ever pageant. Don't get all stressed out, we're not toddlers in tiara's type peeps and I am certainly not cut out to be a pageant mama.

I can barely get myself half way presentable for special occasions never mind do the hair and make up of my eldest (almost tomboyish) daughter. The reason for taking part in this particular pageant is to honor the memory of Syd's Grandpa, I have blogged about this before if you care to go back and check... if not no worries. Just know that she is a very strong, very resiliant and loving girl. She wants to raise money for the American Cancer Society and let people know that it's a very worthy cause, we can all do something to help research and stamp out this most horrible of diseases.

There's a special something for all you fantasitcally generous souls out there who have already sent your donation. We were totally and utterly floored by your generosity and caring... thank you.. really a million times.. thank you. And by the way if your check hasn't cleared yet, it probably will soon, I remember mine didn't clear until after the event last year.. and this year the pageant was delayed by three months!!! Although those three months seem to have flown by, I do appreciate the extra time, time enough for us to find the perfect dress and really gear up to a good day of raising money for the ACS in the name of our dearly beloved Grandpa. We often share our memories of him, he was adored by my girls. I know he has to be so proud of Syd and what she's doing, I truly hope he's watching over her and can see what a beautiful girl she's growing into.

The dress.... I know you're dying to see it... you'll have to wait until after Saturday for the reveal... it was lent to us by two very special ladies indeed and has already been seen at the Relay for Life Pageant once before. It belonged to an extrememly brave and beautiful girl named Savannah. She was diagnosed with brain cancer in second or third grade, two days after I first met her and her mother. We had our first meeting at the place where I worked and we immediately hit it off, I knew we were probably going to be friends. Then I heard the dreadful news of the diagnosis and remember feeling completely overwhelmed and sad, for Savannah, for her Mother and the whole family. Well, I'm happy to say that after a huge amount of treatment and surgery, Savannah is doing great and she's a very happy and loving little girl. Savannah was given a Hero award two years ago at the very first Relay for Life Pageant held here in our town, and this is the dress she wore, so we feel very privilidged to be able to wear it this year. Oh and Savannah's mother... she was Ash's kindergarten teacher this past year and was a total joy.... we were thrilled!!! Let's hope the dress brings Syd a lot of luck!!!!

I hope you'll agree she cleans up pretty well.... and please, if you think of it, drop a dollar into a Relay for Life collection tin somewhere this weekend... they're everywhere.... a little prayer for Syd wouldn't go amiss either!!! xxx 
Oh and if you're wondering about the title... it's in honor of how she immediately thinks I'm her lady in waiting when she's all dressed up like a Princess!

Growing up Scottish...och aye ....

Now it's no surprise to regular readers of Inner Ramblings that I'm a Brit... but only

a few of you know that, although technically English, I was raised in Scotland. 

I feel a true connection to the heritage and history of this beautiful country

and sometimes yearn for men in kilts (I know) and the whine of bagpipes, the mere 

faint sound of a drum line takes me back to my childhood.

Don't get me started on Robert Burns... I can quote some of his more 

famous poems even today!!! 

It may seem a little funny to folks outside of this proud nation but when you're

growing up Scottish, you're growing up with strong traditions, most of 

which include dancing, singing and more than a wee dram or two. 

As a child in the Wee Kindom of Fife I learned some very complicated

dances at an early age. Dances that would get you through some very sticky 

situations, which is why I think they invented such intricate steps, intended 

for times when you need to flee from a Scotsman with less than honorable intentions

and whiskey on his breath. 

Check this out.... 

Now imagine yours truly, reeling and whirling and skipping around as a 

teenager at every school dance from the age of hmmm? five onwards.

Admittedly the five year olds I knew didn't have whiskey on their breath 

but they still might want to show you what they had under their kilt!!! 

Then there's hogmanay (which spell check is obviously unfamiliar with, check 

the alternative spellings....frogman,mahogany,houseman) which is the 

New Year Holiday in Scotland... and no, people... it doesn't last just an 

hour after midnight... this Hogmanay thing goes on for a WEEK!!!! 

My kinda party. 

And finally the good old Pipe Band Picnic, held once a year in the park, 

where the local Pipe Bands in all their regalia perform all day 

long and the kids are treated to ice creams, simple games and races 

and a little lunch bag which was "the picnic". 

fond memories... oh yeah.. fond memories indeed. 

Our local Pipe band was Dysart and Dundonald Pipe Band,

world champions I'll have you know. Google them! 

Corner View.... Bliss.

for other Corner Views check out the links on my side bar.

.

Today's theme is Bliss... Bliss..... Bliss.... the first thing that came to mind was chocolate.. of course... then wine... then chocolate and wine... and so it went on. I took some time to really think about what it means to have a moment of bliss, could it be when my girls hold my hand, when my husband brings me coffee in bed and lets me sleep late or is it the smell of spearmint and eucalyptus that I love so much. It's really all about the senses, all about a feeling that you get from a familiar scent or taste or touch.

One thing that's really blissful to me is a peaceful afternoon, one in which I can relax and pause for reflection, or dose on the couch with the fan on above me just brushing a light breeze across me and humming quietly, lulling me off into a gentle little nap.

Oh yes now that's bliss.... a nap on the couch in the afternoon... uninterupted bliss!!!

Random Tuesday Thoughts.....

Please check out Keely at the Un-Mom and see her Random Tuesday Thoughts... play along... it's fun... is everyone sitting comfortably....then I'll begin.....

I recently purchased a new vehicle... it's bigger and better than the last... I feel like a grown up! 

Why didn't I do this before? When your a Mom you should feel good about having plenty 

of room to ferry your little darlings around, right? It's for them, not me....they're the ones who need

leather seats, a driver 1 position and a walnut (fake of course) dash!!! 

Being a caterer to the family is not a responsibility that I want to burden myself with, the 

daily menu is just about the most difficult part of my existence. I'm finding myself 

wrestling, nay cagefighting,  with the thought of what's lurking at the Supermarket waiting

to strike you down with toxins the like we've never seen before!!! I watched 

as Dr. Sanjay Gupta walked thru the store pointing out that the only way to go 

is to eat organic produce, or peel the stuff that's non organic. OK, will do.

Child # 1, I've never called her that, is doing a horse camp this week thru the 

absolutely fabulous local YMCA. Day one and she's thrilled to bits to have 

walked in horse manure all morning. She then canoed for a while and got caught 

up in the lily pads, and she's totally ready to work there during her summer breaks 

while in college. Sounds like a plan. 

Child # 2 is not doing a camp this week, she's about to bust if I don't let her 

go see the movie Marmaduke. OK go on.... off you go... ya little movie buff. 

Tonight she thrilled audiences (me and child #1) with her impression of the Red 

Queen in Alice in Wonderland... I'm seriously going to record it and post 

it here for you all to enjoy!!! 

In about one year and ten months my dearest darling husband will turn 40. 

I'm already plotting his birthday surprise, I know right?  This is a game I love to 

play with him and I'm starting mighty early this time. 22 months early. 

He's already trying to guess what it could be and how big it is and does it come 

in different colors etc.  I love it, 22 months of teasing and sneaking and 

hinting and absolutely getting under his skin!!!! This never gets old. 

Child #1 and I just went to buy tennis shoes for horse camp at Wally World... 

found the perfect fit, then I said OK come on, lets get some socks and

dog treats and head home.... we looked at each other and said at the 

same time "that's random"... she's so my kid!!! 

So dear readers, that's as random as i get tonight, check out the other linkers and see

what's going on in their heads today!!!! 

So... Happy Monday.

I was thinking about doing a Monday Memoir and linking and all that stuff but I’m sqeakin’ my post in and don’t have time to sit and reminisce this morning!!!

I wish I did have time, more time to devote to doing the stuff I love, I’m dreaming of my novel…. You know …. The No Mo Slack Mo…. The project I dedicated my creative talents to back in January.  Well folks… did you realize that when you awoke this morning that it’s already freakin’ JUNE!!!! Yes half way thru the year, so in theory I should be half way thru my novel, right? Wrong!

There was an initial outpouring of about 600 words, six hundred lovely words that I liked as I read them over but were nowhere near what I had envisioned for the beginning of my best seller.  Then I stopped, telling myself that I had plenty of time and as long as I was appearing on Oprah’s Book Club in January or February of 2011 I would be doing great. Ahem… and that was it.. more Slackerdom than you could shake a stick at. I’m going to make a point of writing at least an hour’s worth of bs for my bs novel each night and I’ll keep you posted.

Speaking of SlackerMama…. My lovely daughter is participating in a pageant this weekend, click the link above to see what it’s all about. Today is Monday people and we don’t yet have a dress…. Yeah… you heard me….Mama is a slacker to the endth degree and there’s not a dress in sight.  I’m gathering a couple of options from friends today and holy shit at least one better fit and be the perfect dress!!!!  I’ve also decided to do the “up do” myself!!!! GGaaaahhhhhh…  I know you’re rolling around laughing.  Oh ye of little faith…. I’ll show you how I can rise to the occasion and have my preteen in tiara up there looking like the Pageant Queen of Sheba.

Another of my projects has picked back up and is ticking along nicely, I’m happy to say I’m clicking away again on my photo a day project on Flickr. I have also added a Gallery Page here on the old blog so I can show off some of the pics I might think are peek worthy… go on, click on the link and take a peek!

That’s about it from me today… nothing too exciting to say… just same old, same old thanks for asking!!!! Check back soon though ‘cos I’m planning a couple of exciting surprises…. Ohhh now that’s peaked your interest hasn’t it????? Cheers!x!x!x!

we had a lot of rain this weekend... this looked nice to me....

Happy Birthday Ash....

Happy Birthday my dear, funny child!!!! 

Six years old today and yet so wise for your years. 

So loving and sweet, yet hilarious and offbeat.... 

You are the light of my life, a total joy and so much fun,  and 

will no doubt be the cause of sleepless nights and grey hairs.

Be good little Ash, be yourself and never stop laughing like you do.

Much love, Mommy.

XXXXXXXX

Corner View .... from where i'm sitting...

We drove to Jacksonville, Fl this weekend. There was a Jazz Festival going on and it was a really neat scene. I took these from the Jacksonville Landing... not all in focus but what the hey....

Check out the side bar for more Corner Viewers and be sure to visit Jane at Spain Daily, she's very unique in her picture taking and is always a joy...really... go on...

Random Tuesday Thoughts.....

Courtesy of the Un-Mom..... thanks UnMom... i'm joining in 'cos a lot of my other buddies have... so there.

Had a great weekend in Jacksonville with the family, however, it really would have been a better weekend if we had managed to escape sans petite mademoiselles, if you know what I mean. There was a Jazz Festival and that meant plenty of good food and good cocktails, margaritas, wine, sangria you name it, they had it, all encompassed in the subtle rhythm of some really good smooth jazz. May have to keep it in mind for next year.

Apparently, according to a little ad thingy on the side bar of FB I can have my face on a Red Bull plane this year at the Red Bull Air Races.  I discovered this little past time last year whilst laying on the couch channel hopping, I truly hope to attend one of the races at some point in time but can't really see my face flying around at the speed of sound on one of those little planes..... would make me feel really nauseous i'm sure.

• Picked up the babies... you know... my shih tzu babies... from the kennel today and they smell divine... really thought about asking her what they were wearing but didn't want her to think I wanted to buy some for them, I'd really like it for myself. 

for some unknown reason that last thing was bullet pointed.... strange.... i didn't mean to to that and my fingers didn't go near that part of the page... I swear... it just happened.

One of my FB friends has a really horrible pic of herself as her profile pic.....urgh... should I say something?

In a fit of retail therapy I bought a marvelous pair of shoes the other day, all shiny and wonderful with cork wedge heals that have little flecks of gold in the cork. I bought them from a posh little shop where the owner is a little snooty to be honest... I don't know where in the world I will wear such shoes... his Gorge better take me somewhere nice for Father's Day is all I can say. 

I have a whole branch of my mothers side of the family in South Africa, four first cousins and their kids and even some of their kids. Tonight we're watching Invictus and I'm wondering if this is what my cousins down there sound like, thus far we have only communicated via facebook.... sad really but yay for some kind of communication!!!! 

Well that's it for tonight's random stuff. Be sure and peek at the Un-Mom and the other randomees. 

and finally a random bird...... heeee heeee!!!